Sunday, December 25, 2011

The Fast of Daniel- Day Fourteen



Original Post by Bishop Macedo

Readers may ask why we insist on talking about sacrifice.
It would be easy not to talk about sacrifice. We would not expose ourselves to criticism, the messages would be lighter, we would please both Greeks and Romans and no one would feel offended.

However, because we do not work according to the rules of this world, we are not merchants of the Word, we do not live off the selling of books, we do not run for political office and are not concerned about attracting religious people, we’ve chosen to follow the inspiration of the Spirit of God and proclaim the truth that sets people free.
Those who believe, go forward. Those who don’t believe, stay behind with the foolish virgins.
The truth is, when sin does not instantly kill, it slowly beats a sinner to death.
Many people, Christian and non-Christian, are groaning and don’t know how to get rid of their agony.
The spirit of sin is possessing mankind and leading them to a state of chaos.
Although many people know the Gospel, only a few have the courage to put it into practice and dwell within the shelter of God.
Most prefer to stick to a message of salvation and avoid the sacrifice of the flesh.
Meanwhile, deceiving and antichristian spirits are free to work, causing relentless suffering in those who believe in God.
These recent days are not very different from the days of John the Baptist. In those days, not only did he preach repentance, he led sincere Jews to confess and abandon their sins. Matthew 3:1-10
Right now, wouldn’t this be God’s will for your life? What’s the point of looking for God’s help in church when you continue to live in adultery, fornication, stealing, lying, etc…
Who do you think you’re fooling?
What do you think you’re going to accomplish?
How long are you going to keep this spirit of sin inside of you?
Sin is a spirit. Whoever says yes to sin, says yes to its spirit.
How can a person get out of this prison?
Sacrifice your flesh until it dies of starvation.
Obviously!
If you sacrifice your flesh, where will the spirit of sin live?
If you want an immediate answer from God, then sacrifice to Him immediately. However, if you do not abandon a life of promiscuity, adultery, lying, stealing, immorality and everything else that pleases the devil, how do you expect the Spirit of God to work in your life?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Fast of Daniel- Day Thirteen



Original Post by Bishop Macedo
Sadly, many see the altar as a haven of safety rather than a place of constant sacrifice.

At the altar they feel “protected” (from a guilty conscience), that their true spiritual state will not be exposed, as if the altar would give them a lifetime warranty, or free them from temptations so that they no longer have to go through the daily fight for their salvation. A sad mistake!
A few weeks ago an incident happen that I’d like to use as a warning to those who find themselves in a similar situation. After being married for seven years, a pastor’s wife cheated on her husband because she was not born of the Holy Spirit.
She had everything. Her husband was dedicated, a friend and a partner, faithful to God and therefore, faithful to his wife. What more could a wife want from her husband?
But, who knows what made her change her mind. She was moved by a spirit of lust that exercised its control over her, and didn’t think about how the consequence of sin is physical and/or spiritual death.
Her husband immediately allowed her to leave him. With nowhere to go, no way out, she returned to her parent’s house.
Then, filled with regret, she came crying to the wife of the bishop in charge, asking for help.
She came looking for support and the assurance that she had lost. She wanted to "borrow oil” from someone she knew would have oil. She was willing to accept any job and submit to any situation as long as she would be close to her old "haven of safety" – a place that gave her the peace she once had, and lost.
This wife wanted to help, but at the same time didn’t want to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit.
So she said to her:
"Do you remember the five foolish virgins? That’s right. When the groom returned, their lamps had run out of oil. They ran over to the five wise virgins and asked to borrow some of their oil. And what was their answer? ‘...we can’t give you the oil from our lamps or we will run out of oil too. Go to the market quickly and buy more’. But there was no time and they were left outside."
The bishop's wife concluded by saying: "I can’t take the oil from my lamp and give it to you. Seek while there is time. Make sure you don’t have a lamp that’s run out of oil when the groom comes to meet you."
Please understand, God’s actions are not based on emotions. No! In the end, He will not feel "pity" for those who are outside knocking on the door.
Right now you have time to go and buy more, and be spiritually rich. Or can’t you see that you’re running out of oil? Of course you do!
But why is it that many only notice they need more oil after they’ve already run out – when not even one drop is left? Many have a false sense of safety because they are close to the altar.
Spiritual blindness tempts people to think they can play around with sensuality and not run the risk of giving birth to an illegitimate child.James 1:14-15
When we sin we lose the rights that we once had. It’s a waste of time to complain, kick or want to justify ourselves...
Only those who submit to Jesus and accept who they are before God, and before men, will receive the POWER TO BECOME children of God. They will receive the Holy Spirit and His anointing.
Sooner or later a lack of oil will make the foolish go knocking on other peoples’ doors.
Viviane Freitas

Friday, December 23, 2011

The Fast of Daniel- Day Twelve

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

I doubt that God would require a level of faith from His children beyond what He has already given them!
But whoever wants to know the upper limit of his faith must simply look at the degree of sacrifice that he has been willing to make.

That is why Jesus said: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself (sacrifice), and take up his cross (sacrifice), and follow Me (sacrifice). Matthew 16.24
It's the same with love.
Whoever wants to know the actual intensity of their love for a loved one, should simply look at the sacrifices they have been willing to make for them.
The size of the faith is measured by the size of the sacrifice.
Whoever does not believe, does not sacrifice;
Whoever believes half way, sacrifices half way;
Whoever believes 100%, sacrifices 100%.
Wasn’t this Jesus’ response to the hypocrites?
Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:29-30
What I mean is this:
Whoever believes with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind and all his strength, will sacrifice with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind and all his strength.
Do you get the spirit of the thing?
In other words:
Sacrifice your heart;
Sacrifice your soul;
Sacrifice your mind;
Sacrifice your strength.
This is a fact. There’s no adding or subtracting to this. It’s hard, raw, pure reality.
Whoever wants to receive everything from God (the Spirit of God) has to completely sacrifice heart, soul, mind and strength.
God’s all for our all.
ALL FOR ALL!
Are you willing to do this?
And I’ll say more, those who believe don’t make excuses, they sacrifice.
But those who do not believe, seek to justify their unbelief by making excuses and blaming others.
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother.’” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor (sacrifice), and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me (sacrifice). But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful (sacrifice saddens), for he was very rich.Luke 18.18-23
A sacrifice saddens the one making the sacrifice, but shows the quality of his faith to the One receiving the sacrifice.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has (sacrifice) and buys that field. Matthew 13:44
As you can see, pure faith is about obedience to the Word of God.
Faith requires obedience. And obedience is materialized through sacrifice.
Obedience is impossible without sacrifice.
Abraham was the greatest example of obedience.Hebrews 11.8-17
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,“ Abraham believed God (used his faith and sacrificed), and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. James 2.20-24
To summarize: faith without the work of sacrifice does not justify (forgive) anyone before God.
This is why most believers end up as failures, both spiritually and physically. They learned to accept Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord. If Jesus were their Lord, they would sacrifice their lives to serve Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
So then, hear O Israel of the last days, Jesus Christ is only Lord and Savior of THOSE who REALLY serve Him!
My Lord, have compassion on those who are sincere but deceived, and give them another chance. This I implore in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Fast of Daniel- Day Eleven


Original Post by Bishop Macedo

People have been aware of sacrifice since ancient times. It began in the Garden of Eden. The Almighty had to sacrifice an animal to cover up Adam and Eve’s nakedness, thereby replacing the fig leaves—the devil’s inspiration.

The fig leaves symbolize religion’s intent to cover up the nakedness of sin without sacrifice. In general, even evangelical churches do this. They seek to widen the door of the Kingdom of God with a doctrine devoid of sacrifice.
Was there no other way for the Lord to solve the problem of Adam and Eve’s nakedness other than the death of an animal? If there had been, He would have taken it.
Was there a way to save humanity without the sacrifice of Jesus? If there had been, He would have done it.
As you can see, sacrifice is not an option. From the very moment you decide to achieve something in life, you are obligated to open your hand and sacrifice.
The character of a thief rejects sacrifice. He prefers to prosper from other people’s sacrifices. Still, without intending to he risks his freedom and even his life to steal. Isn’t that also sacrifice?
A murderer would rather kill than forgive or let his victim go free.
A proud person chooses to hold on to his arrogance rather than humbling himself and apologizing.
There is no way out!
There is no area of our secular or spiritual lives in which sacrifice does not apply.
For a successful career you must be dedicated to your studies;
To get a monthly salary, you must work;
To maintain a healthy marriage, a couple has to sacrifice for each other;
To have an encounter with God, you must sacrifice your flesh;
To stay in the faith, you must sacrifice your will;
To receive the eternal salvation of your soul, you must sacrifice day after day.
Jesus said ... for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life (sacrifice) for My sake will find it.Matthew 16:25
At sporting events athletes usually make the sign of the cross before entering the field. In other words, they pray to avoid injury and win.
Others turn to witchdoctors and fortune-tellers.
Sacrifices were so necessary and effective that before certain nations went into battle in the past, their priests would even sacrifice children to attract the favor of their gods.
The history of the people of Israel documents that their sacrifices alone, saved them.
Though they made alliances, were the chosen people, had the promises, and above all, had ancestors with accounts of faith, loyalty and commitment to God, in their time of need they still had to sacrifice to survive.
During a war with the Philistines, Saul felt pressured by circumstances, disobeyed the prophet Samuel and offered sacrifices to keep his army from deserting him.I Samuel 13.8-14
He did not have the authority to make those sacrifices. This was the exclusive task of the priests. However, moved by the spirit of fear he rushed to get it done. For this reason God regretted having made him king.
In those days the sacrifices before a battle guaranteed success. Knowing this, the soldiers charged against the enemy absolutely certain of triumph. They knew the secret to victory was their sacrifices to God.
The devil and his children hate sacrifice. Not even when Jesus says: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Matthew 16:24), do our “brothers” believe.
If you are not willing to follow this rule, there is no point in accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
The Lord Jesus demands three levels of sacrifice:
First: Deny yourself,
Second: Take up your cross and,
Third: Follow Him.
Which of the three is easiest? None.
All of them require sacrifice, sacrifice and more sacrifice.
To those who believe, go forward.
To those who do not believe, stay behind with the foolish virgins. Matthew 25:1-13

The Fast of Daniel- Day Ten

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

King David had close to forty special men. Among these men, thirty were very special and three were extremely special.
The extremely special men were:

#1 – Josheb-Basshebeth the Tahkemonite was the chief of the three. He raised his spear against eight hundred men and killed them all at once.
#2 – Eleazar the son of Dodo was among the three when they defied the Philistines... He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary and stuck to the sword...
#3 – Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines gathered together at Lehi, there was a piece of ground full of lentils, and Israel fled from the Philistines. Shammah stood in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.
Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David.
Now Abishai the brother of Joab, was chief of another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men and killed them. He won a name among these three. He received much honor from them and became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.
Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He killed two heroes of Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day. He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature. The Egyptian had a spear, but Benaiah attacked him with a staff, wrested the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. He won a name among the first three mighty men. He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.2 Samuel 23
The question is: Which of these do you identify with in terms of faith?
Or do you not identify with any of them?
Either way, the Spirit of God is seeking men and women with this character of faith to establish His Kingdom in the hearts of those who are humble and sincere, but who have been trapped in the clutches of the Philistines.
Going to church, being a faithful tither and an offering-giver is just not enough. More is needed, much more.
David's brothers were men of war, soldiers in the army of Israel. But what difference did that make when Goliath appeared? Nothing. They cowered and even criticized David for having the faith to face the giant.
Most believers do the same. Evangelicals, Christians, they are faithful to the Church and their pastor, but at the same time they are weak.
How can the God of Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses, Joshua, Jephthah, Gideon, David and many others free the prisoners of satan when He can’t find anyone willing to give their all… no people that place all their heart in the God of Abraham?
The Spirit of God is not about speaking in tongues, worship and singing.
The Spirit of the Lord anoints with His fullness in order to proclaim freedom to the captives of hell. Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18
This is why most Christians’ lives are worse than many unbelievers’ lives.
They believe in God but do not use their faith. They believe in His promises but do not have the faith to challenge Him to fulfill them. They believe in a theory but do not put it into practice.
Why?
Because deep down, they do not believe. They are wimps!
Read, meditate and draw your own conclusions from the following verse:
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him... 2 Chronicles 16:9
To those who believe, go forward.
To those who do not believe, stay behind with the foolish virgins.
Matthew 25:1-13

The Fast of Daniel- Day Nine

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

Those who are born of the Spirit, single and free of any romantic relationship, have an advantage over those who are tied to feelings of the heart.
I say this from experience.

When I was around 20 years old, I remember clearly that I had more time to read the Bible, pray and worship my Lord. I would go into my room, lock the door and there in that room, develop my communion with Him.
On one Saturday night as I was reading about David and Goliath, a verse caught my eye and filled me with inexpressible joy. David was sent by his father to take provisions to his brothers and to find out how they were. Arriving there, he spoke to his brothers, and before they could answer he heard the threatening cries of a man of the Philistine army.
Morning and evening for forty days, Goliath challenged anyone from Israel to come out and fight him.
“And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.”
But David, an inexperienced young man that was unable to serve in the army in any capacity, was not intimidated by the size of that man, who was almost 9 feet tall, or by his specialized armour. Filled with a living faith in the God of his fathers, the young shepherd became indignant at his threat and said:
“For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” I Samuel 17.26
There are no words to describe the happiness and boundless joy that filled my being.
Forty-five years have now passed but I still remember this as if it were yesterday. It seemed like the Spirit of God was calling me to stand up to Babylon (religion) and its servants, and the sewer networks (media).
David killed Goliath and cut off his head. But the spirits, of both Goliath and of the Philistines, continue on earth and threaten the armies of the Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel.
IIn response, the Spirit of God through the UCKG, has raised up people from the four corners of the earth with the same spirit as David to confront the “Philistine-Romans”.
Goliath is the sewer network that works for the Roman army (media and religion).
Those who have ears to hear: listen, understand, be sealed with the Spirit of God and consider yourselves called up for war.
Those who believe in the God of David, come along with us.
Those who don’t, continue to stay connected to the sewer network and feed on its excrement.
God bless those who believe.

The fast of Daniel- Day Eight

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

Have you ever seen how a soldier is trained in the army? Far more than their body, their mind is trained to control their emotions. This is because they have to be prepared to kill the enemy without mercy if and when they go to war. Soldiers are trained to destroy the enemies of their home country.
Still, their training is not the best.
When it comes to a special forces squad, a maximum of five out of a hundred applicants are chosen. Their training is extremely harsh and severe. Their mind is trained to make them almost indifferent to physical pain. Imagine their insensitivity to emotions!
If a soldier is not able to overcome his emotions and weaknesses, how will he confront and defeat the enemy? If he cannot win his own internal battles, how will he win his external battles?
For me, the philosophy of a special forces squad is not to die fighting, but to win fighting.
The Kingdom of God is no different. All who are born of the Holy Spirit are part of the Special Forces Squad of Heaven. No child of God is weaker than another. They all have the same Godly DNA, the same Spirit, the same power...
Isn’t this what we believe, that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind? 2 Timothy 1.7
Of course, not everyone is willing to risk his life to protect his faith. It was this way in the past, it is this way in the present and will continue to be this way in the future.
But there are some who stand out. They don’t think twice before sacrificing their lives for what they believe.
Take the Gadites who helped David as an example. The Bible says that they were men of valour, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains… The least was over a hundred men, and the greatest was over a thousand. I Chronicles 12:1-14
God did not withhold His power from the faithful in the past, nor does He in the present. He has equipped His children in such a way that the enemies of the cross have no chance of prevailing.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments… 2 Corinthians 10.4
Those who are born of the Spirit of God never lose. What appear to be losses, failures, frustrations and disappointments are nothing more than training for the Special Forces Squad of the Spirit of God.
All things work together for their good! All things...
When they win, they rejoice in the victory. Hallelujah!
When they lose they cry, mourn and groan—but only for a while.
Later on, they discover that they have gained. And then, it’s all celebration!
Death, demons, hell, the devil and all his children will tremble with rage when they see us happily, joyfully and glowingly facing the hardships of life.
The children of Cain are dying of envy because of us. Who ordered them not to make the sacrifices of the children of Abel?
LOL!
Win or lose, those who are born of God always win!

The Fast of Daniel- Day Seven

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

Due to human nature’s hypersensitivity to emotions it is difficult to deny the desires of the flesh.
The conflict between spirit and flesh has claimed lives... even worse, lives lost for all eternity.

How many love relationships have ended in death? …in suicide? How many lives? Why?
Simply because sensitive people yield to the whims of their feelings. They become hostages to the voice of their desperately wicked, deceitful heart. Its hold is so strong that they do not even stop to reason for a moment.
They think that their moments of deep anguish will never end. They think that a lost “love” signals the end of their lives.
But since time is the master of reason, in time they will realise how foolish they were; they were troubled and lost precious time.
While they were melting in tears, the devil couldn’t stop laughing...
Consequently, the great need to have Adam’s nature transformed into a Godly nature, from a living soul to a life-giving spirit, from emotion to reason, from born of the flesh to born of the Spirit.
In this way, Christians will no longer be at a disadvantage in the battle against Satan, or against sin. Because the devil is spirit, he takes advantage of those who live in the flesh. But when Christians are spirit, and even better, when they are spirit and have the DNA of the Holy Spirit, then it’s over for the devil and for all of hell.
There is not even the slightest chance of losing. Those who are born of the Spirit are destined to overcome all things! They overcome the devil, love life problems, addictions, pride, sin and the world. In other words they overcome everything because they are children of God and have His power within them.
It is exactly what the apostle Paul teaches:
For whatever is born of God (is spirit) overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1John 5.4
We know that whoever is born of God (is spirit) does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.1john5.18
This is like totally awesome, as surfers would say...

Friday, December 16, 2011

The Fast of Daniel- Day six

Day 6-
December 16, 2011

Day six, day six. Today is Day six. Today is the end of my 6th quarter. Finals are done and our "holiday break" begins. The fast of Daniel continues. I have already seen a change in myself. It's crazy what a little more focus and surrender can do. Everyone begins the temporary feeling of giving, peace, and joy. I say temporary because for some reason the world shifts in December. All of a sudden it's all beautiful, everyone puts on an appearance of harmony and peace. It's only in December. Only in the season. I don't understand why it can't be always. Anyway everyone is preparing to give gifts, receive gifts. As for me I'm going to continue to fast, surrender my ego and gonna spend this "holiday season" sacrificing. I've come to realize that nothing else matters, everything in this word will be gone when we die. It's not gonna matter if we were "cool", which party we attended, how many friends we had, who we dated, or anything. What we did in this life will determine where we go in the afterlife. And that's what I am investing in right now, there's no way I can lose in doing this. God is with me, the Holy Spirit is in me and my choices will reflect what the Holy Spirit wants me to do. I've learned so much these past six days. All the messages have been eye-opening. I know that no-one is perfect and that I might have been doing some things wrong, but it is never too late to start over. Today's message was about the Seven Spirits:
"The prophecy: The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 11:2"
 The Holy Spirit is one Spirit, of course, yet within that One spirit is seven virtues. Those who are possessed with the Holy Spirit have these virtues, just as Jesus did, so that we could face every single one of our problems and overcome all of our problems. 
God is amazing and would never let anything that comes against us be stronger than us. Something to keep in mind is that you are stronger than your temptations. Only when you are with God, even if you are just beginning to want to be with God, you can overcome your temptations if you decide you don't want to fall.


It's crazy when you turn your back on this World. Today I was in Santa Ana, CA at the college I am attending. It's winter, therefore there's crazy weather. As you can see the wind was blowing at 3mph, it doesn't seem that bad when you walk the same direction the wind is blowing. The wind itself gives you a push. The problem is when you turn and walk the opposite direction, the wind pushes you back and it becomes more difficult to walk towards it. I thought today, that is exactly what happens in this world. As youths we naturally want to be "in". We want to go with the flow. We want to do what everyone else is doing so that we wont be left out, and yes, it comes naturally. You are considered "normal" when you go the same direction as the wind of this World. When we decide to "walk" the opposite direction of this world, it becomes difficult. It seems like the wind blows harder in order for you to be pushed back, in order for you to turn back around and go with the flow. Every one sees you as a "Jesus Freak". No one ever wants to talk to you. If they do, it's to influence you to fall in sin. People always give me a "weirdo" look when I say I don't party, I don't drink, I don't smoke weed, I don't cuss, I don't do anything considered "normal". What I know though is that all that sin will take you to suffering, to losing, and even worse to hell. What I know and choose to do is worth more than anything, it will not pass. 

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:35)


I'm Just a Girl.



The Fast of Daniel- Day Five

Day 5
December 15, 2011

I was not able to write yesterday because I was so busy. But here's my reflection of yesterdays message (Bishop Macedo's Blog)
 Two kinds of offerings indeed. There are people who never want to turn to God because they are completely aware that if they do they will need to sacrifice something. They know that what they'll sacrifice is what they like. It could be addictions, sin, their own will, etc. It's the fact that they're not ready to give it up that they wont go that extra mile to find happiness. What they are unaware of is that when they choose to not sacrifice to God, they are choosing to sacrifice for the devil. When I see people whose lives are in the devils hands, they are destroyed, they have no strength, they don't see life as people with God do. The tight situations they are in force them to do sacrifices that they wouldn't want to do if they didn't have to.

I heard a story not too long ago in one of our services. It was about choices. More specifically It was about choosing God:

There was a standing on a wall. On one side of the wall was God, along with His angels. On the other side was Satan, along with his angels. On God's side was God and the angels calling the man, telling him to choose Him. Telling him that it was the best choice. On the other side was Satan and his angels, only staring at him and smiling. They didn't speak, nor did they make any offers. All they did was stand there, stare and Smile. The man on the wall grew confused. So he asked Satan, "Why aren't you trying to get me to choose your side? Aren't you concerned that I wont choose you?"  Satan smiled and answered "I don't need to try, you turn to me the moment you don't choose Him."

If you want to turn to God yet don't decide you basically turn to Satan. The moment you grow indecisive is the moment Satan finds a way into your life.  Make a choice. Choose God.

Just a Girl :)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Fast of Daniel- Day Four

Day 4
December 14, 2011
(From "Born of the Holy Spirit and baptism in the Holy Spirit" Bishop Macedo Blog )
 "...First, lead those who have a sincere heart to the new birth.
That is, being born of the Holy Spirit."
"...Second, lead those who have already been born of God to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit."

Today's message was pretty clear. You have to have a clean heart in order to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. First you have to be forgiven, and make it clear to God that you are 100% willing to do anything to receive the baptism with the Holy spirit, you are first born of God. Only after that will you be eligible to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I am going strong. It is the fourth day already. I feel great! I don't even miss anything in the media. Well maybe I do, but it is worth every second. Still in finals. Today I had my College Algebra Final. Blahhh. I feel good :)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Fast of Daniel- Day Three

Day 3
December 13, 2011
Well today was a good day. I got up half an hour early, read Bishops message for today. You know it just got me thinking more than usual today. That's why it's sooo hard to tell when someone is actually in faith when you see them at church because they appear to be one thing but when you see them around their friends or you check out their facebook they seem like they have their backs completely turnes to God. What's the point? Why not just be your real self everywhere. You're only deceiving yourself. God knows everything. I just hope I never turn like that. God please help me on this road.
Bisho Macedo Blog- Day 3: http://www.bispomacedo.com.br/en/2011/12/13/god%E2%80%99s-character/

Just a girl.

Monday, December 12, 2011

The Fast of Daniel -Day Two

Day 2
December 12, 2011

Today has been a challenge! It's finals week! Well today I had some free time in front of a computer. What I usually do in my free time on a computer is log on to Facebook, Tumblr, and listen to music on Pandora. Today was different. I went on to IURDTV.COM and watched the show. I also checked out Obispo Macedo's Blog. God has truly been speaking to me. I mean He always has a way of speaking to me when I read the Bible or attend a service somewhere but It's crazy how different I feel. When I pray to Him It's different. It's only the second day. I feel like I'm not missing out on anything. I feel like I'm closer to Him and that He is a part of me. What I read on Bishop Macedo's blog today was really deep. I read both today's message and Yesterdays. I have to have a clear mind to focus on only God. I have to do what Jesus did. Give up everything to be stronger Spiritually. I know that this renewal will be stronger than ever. I know that God is going to be with me but most importantly that I am going to remain baptized by the Holy Spirit.
I'm just a girl. :)

The Fast of Daniel- Day One

Day one-
Sunday December 11, 2011.
What better day than Sunday to begin a life changing Journey. Sunday is the Lord's day. Always. Never will I prefer to do anything on a Sunday than spend it serving God with all that I can give. I'm going to be honest, It's been really hard dropping all that I am used to do in December and just focus on the Holy Spirit. Yeah it's not super difficult but it's a change. December is usually a month of family, giving, receiving and vacation. This year it's a month of sacrifice. The difference I see this year is quite clear. Usually we give gifts and receive them, this year I am still giving and receiving, but I am giving God MY EVERYTHING and in exchange God is going to give me His Spirit! What some people don't understand that when you are baptized by the Holy Spirit you depend completely on God and that means you need Him every minute of every hour, of every day. There's basically nothing you'd rather have than His Spirit. I know that these 21 days will be a sacrifice but I will enter 2012 a brand new person and in His Presence.
 Keeping myself focused on God.

http://www.bispomacedo.com.br/en/2011/12/11/the-fast-of-daniel%E2%80%94day-one/

Just a Girl :)